Impact of the Work Context and the Principal’s Leadership on Stress in Teachers

Abstract

Stress is associated with increased absenteeism and reduced productivity among teachers. Previous studies regarding this professional group have reported stress prevalence rates ranging from 6.6% to 86%. According-ly, this study aimed to examine the impact of the work context and school principals’ leadership styles on stress levels among Brazilian basic ed-ucation teachers. To this end, a total of 1,820 teachers from all regions of Brazil participated in the study. Data were collected using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Hetero-Evaluation Scale of School Principal Leadership Styles, and the Teaching Work Context Assessment Scale (TWCAS), administered through a self-report questionnaire. Thereaf-ter, multiple linear regression analyses were conducted using R and RStu-dio. The results showed that 30.4% of the teachers presented some level of stress. The significant predictors of stress were age, work organization, so-cio-professional relationships, and the Country Club leadership style.